North Borneo was a British protectorate located in the northern Borneo which was under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1941. From 1942 to 1945, North Borneo was occupied by Japanese military forces, before they were driven out by Australian troops. From 1946 to 1963, North Borneo was turned into a Crown Colony of Great Britain, known as British North Borneo Crown. During this time seven of the British-controlled islands in north-eastern Borneo named Turtle Islands together with Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi were ceded to the Philippine government under a past treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the United States. Today, the former North Borneo is part of Malaysia as the state of Sabah, apart from the island group of Labuan which was separated from the rest in 1984 to form a Federal Territory, administered directly from the federal government. |
